Apparatus for producing laminated products

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for producing laminated products, such as candy, is disclosed. The method includes the steps of continuously forming a semifluid sheet of a first material on a longitudinally extending conveyor, depositing a semifluid second material on the sheet of the first material, continuously rolling the sheet from the edges thereof inwardly to form a double roll extending longitudinally along the conveyor, and flattening the roll into a laminated sheet product. The method further includes the steps of forming the sheet into a &#34;rope&#34; of substantially smaller width than the sheet by folding the sheet over itself from the edges of the sheet and allowing the rope to move transversely across a slower moving conveyor so that the rope bunches up on the conveyor. The rope is then flattened by a roller. The method also includes the step of causing the sheet to longitudinally fold over itself so as to form laminations. Additionally, the method includes the steps of dividing the laminated sheet product into longitudinally extending strips and transversely dividing the strips into individual product pieces. Apparatus for achieving the method is also disclosed.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 001,692, filed Jan. 9,1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,685, issued Oct. 18, 1988, which is, inturn, a division of application Ser. No. 611,671, filed May 18, 1984,now U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,496, issued July 14, 1987.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the manufacture of laminated productshaving many layers, and, more particularly, to the manufacture oflaminated food products, such as candy, which are formed by the layeringof a smooth nonabsorbent material and a soft flowable material.

For many years, candy bars have been manufactured which have a crisptexture together with a strong flavor component associated with a softmaterial. This combination of texture and taste has been achieved byproducing a laminate which contains many thin layers of a brittle candyseparated by thin layers of the soft flavor material.

These candy bars are conventionally made by a labor intensive processthat produces consistent results. In the prior art process, a hotsolution of corn syrup and sugar is dropped on a circular chilled table.A pair of scrapers work the solution by drawing it from opposite outeredges of the table toward the center, the table turning about 1/8 turnbetween successive scraper operations. As the solution cools, it turnsinto a soft pliable taffy. Color and flavor ingredients, in liquid form,may be added to the taffy by pouring it into a depression formed in thetaffy mass. The taffy mass is manually folded to cover and close thedepression. The mass is then manually lifted onto the hooks of a taffypuller. The puller works the taffy, aerating it to reduce its density.

The aerated taffy is transferred from the puller to a conveyor and isfed between rollers to form a thin sheet. A layer, for example, of hotpeanut butter is applied to the sheet and the sheet is severed atpredetermined levels. Each section of sheet is rolled into a logweighing about 80 lbs. The log is folded in half, fed between rollersand rolled out into a sheet once more. This sheet is again rolled into alog which is manually wrapped in a sheet of taffy to keep peanut butterfrom squeezing out the ends and to provide and insure that the productpieces have an outer sheet of candy with no exposed peanut butter.

The log is manually placed in one of a number of spinning machines thatfeed a conveyor. The spinning machines have several long rotating conesprovided with traction knobs and are positioned on axes that coveragetoward the output end. The cones are spaced to receive the log and arerotated to draw the log toward the output end and thus stretch the loginto a rope about 1/5 its original diameter (from about 5 inchesdiameter to about 1 inch diameter). The ends of the rope are manuallyfed onto a conveyor which carries a number of ropes each formed by aseparate spinner. The ropes are divided into product sized bars andenrobed with chocolate.

The sheet of taffy in which the log is wrapped forms a taffy wall ateach end of the log. As these end portions are stretched out to form therope, they produce rope sections containing unlaminated taffy. Thisresults in undesirable hard spots in the candy bars.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatusfor continuously producing uniform products that are composed ofalternate layers of different materials.

It is a further object to provide a method and apparatus which has aparticular application in the manufacture of laminated candy productsmade of alternating layers of hard and soft materials.

It is still a further object to provide a method and apparatus whicheliminates the disadvantages of known methods of making laminated candyproducts.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by amethod for producing a laminated sheet product comprising the steps ofcontinuously forming a semifluid sheet of a first material on a movingconveyor, continuously depositing a second material onto the sheet offirst material to form a layered sheet of the first and secondmaterials, continuously rolling the layered sheet from the edges thereofinwardly to form a double roll extending longitudinally along theconveyor and flattening the roll to form a laminated sheet. In order toproduce individual commercial product sized pieces, the laminated sheetis then divided into longitudinally extending strips and the strips arethen cut transversely into individual pieces.

In accordance with the above described method, the objects of theinvention are achieved by an apparatus for producing a laminated sheetproduct having alternating thin layers of a semifluid first material anda semifluid second material comprising longitudinally extending conveyormeans, means for continuously forming a semifluid sheet of the firstmaterial on the conveyor means, means for continuously depositing thesecond material on the sheet to form a layered sheet of first and secondmaterials, means for continuously rolling the sheet from the edgesthereof inwardly to form a double roll extending longitudinally alongthe conveyor means and means for flattening the roll into a laminatedsheet product.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from a reading of the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention have been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description, and are shown in the accompanying drawingsforming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIGS. 1A to 1E provide a top plan view of apparatus according to thepresent invention when laid out end to end in sequential order;

FIGS. 2A to 2E provide a front elevational view of the apparatus shownin FIGS. 1A to 1E when laid out end to end in sequential order;

FIGS. 3A to 3E provide a top plan view of a second embodiment ofapparatus according to the present invention when laid out end to end;

FIGS. 4A to 4E provide a front elevational view of the apparatus shownin FIGS. 3A to 3E when laid out end to end;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the product on the conveyor taken alonglines 5--5 of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 6--6 of FIG.1C;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 7--7 of FIG.1C;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 8--8 of FIG.1C;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 9--9 of FIG.1C;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 10--10 ofFIG. 3A;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 11--11 ofFIG. 3A;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 12--12 ofFIG. 3A;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 13--13 ofFIG. 3C;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 14--14 ofFIG. 3D;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the product taken along line 15--15 ofFIG. 3D;

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of a modification usable in place of alaterally oscillating chute or conveyor; and

FIG. 17 is a front elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 16.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 1A--1E and 2A--2Eone embodiment of apparatus according to the present invention in whicha cooking and aerating unit 10 continuously produces a stream of hotaerated solution of corn syrup and sugar, discharging the stream througha nozzle 11 onto a steel band conveyor 12. The unit 10 may be one of thetype manufactured by the Otto Hansel company of Germany and sold underthe trade name SUCROLINER.

The solution exiting from the nozzle 11 is at about 258° F. and is in avery liquid state. A water cooling unit 14 is provided below the upperrun of the conveyor 12 to cool the solution to a working temperaturebetween 160° F. and 200° F., at which temperature the solution is in aplastic state. The cooling unit 14 sprays water on the bottom surface ofthe upper run of the conveyor band. The temperature of the spray watervaries from about 160° F. near the input end of the conveyor 12 wherethe solution is hottest to about 120° F. near its output end.

The stream of solution discharged from the nozzle 11 is immediatelyspread across the conveyor 12 by a spreader 15 to form a sheet of candy.Ground candy scrap, commonly referred to as "rework", is sprinkled ontothe sheet from a vibratory feeder 16 and melts into the hot sheet.

A pair of plow blocks 17 (which are suspended from an overhead frameworknot shown) engage the edges of the candy sheet and fold the edges overonto the center as shown in cross section in FIG. 5. The plow blocks 17may be rectangular blocks of plastic or metal which are formed with aconcave surface 19 for engaging and folding over the candy sheet.

The folded sheet exiting from the first set of plow blocks 17 is rolleddown and stretched by a cleated roller 20. The sheet exiting from theroller 20 is again folded by a pair of plow blocks 21 and then rolledand stretched by a second cleated roller 22. The narrow thick sheet orrope of candy leaving the roller 22 is then turned over twice, as shownin FIGS. 1B and 2B, by single plows 24 and 25 spaced further along theconveyor 12.

The folding and turning of the candy sheet by the plow blocks 17, 21, 24and 25 allows the candy to cool evenly and prevents excessive cooling ofone surface which would result in hardening or "skinning over" of thesurface.

Referring now to FIGS. 1C and 2C, at the end of conveyor 12, the rope ofcandy is transferred onto an oscillating chute 26, and from that chuteonto a second conveyor 27 which is traveling at a slower rate than theconveyor 12. The chute 26 oscillates about a vertical axis centrallyplaced at the input end of the chute. The chute 26 narrows toward itsoutput end and is provided with side walls 29 to direct the flow of thecandy rope. The chute 26 is mounted on a vertical shaft 30 which isoscillated about its axis by a motor 31 through a crank 32 on the shaftof the motor, an arm 34 on the shaft 30 and a link 35 interconnectingthe crank 32 and the arm 34.

The oscillating motion of the chute 26 causes the candy rope to be laiddown in a sinuous pattern on the slower moving conveyor 27. A pair ofguide plates 36 (supported by an overhead framework not shown) confinethe folds of the candy rope allowing them to build up in front of asmooth sheeting roll 37. The sheet roll 37, operating against a backingroll 39 beneath the conveyor belt, rolls the accumulated candy mass intoa thin candy sheet. This sheet is operated upon by a scoring roll 40which is formed with two sets of helical ridges (a lefthand set and aright hand set) extending outwardly from the center of the roll. Theroll 40 turns at the same speed that the candy sheet is moving andimpresses into the candy sheet a "herring-bone" pattern comprising aseries of "V" shaped grooves 41 pointing in the direction the sheet istraveling, as shown in FIG. 1C.

Immediately after the roll 40, hot liquefied peanut butter, for example,may be dispensed onto the candy sheet. The peanut butter is pumped froma unit 42 to a pipe 44 that extends across the conveyor 27 and isprovided with a number of dispensing nozzles spread across the candysheet. The peanut butter is spread with a spreader 45 across the candysheet and into the grooves 41, as shown in cross section in FIG. 6. Thesheet is then rolled from each edge toward the center of the sheet by apair of sidewinder units 46, each of which contain a serrated roller 47.The units 46 are positioned at each side of the conveyor 27 and therollers 47 extend over the conveyor at an inward angle from thedirection of conveyor travel.

The rollers 47 engage and lift the edges of the candy sheet and rollthem toward the center to form a double jelly roll configuration as isshown in cross section in FIG. 7. The grooves 41, because of theirorientation, aid in the rolling process. They also act as receptacles tohold the peanut butter within the double roll configuration and thusprevent the peanut butter from squeezing out as the roll is formed.

The double rolled sheet is rolled down by a cleated roller 49 to form alaminated thick sheet as shown in cross section in FIG. 8. This sheet isfolded in half by a plow block 50 to form a laminated rope as shown incross section in FIG. 9. This rope is rolled out into a relatively thicklaminate by a cleated roller 51 as shown in FIGS. 1D and 2D. The thicksheet moves from the end of the conveyor 27 through a swing laminator 52onto a conveyor 54. The laminator 52 includes a substantially verticalplate 55 positioned under the outlet end of the conveyor 27. The plate55 is pivoted at its upper end about a horizontal shaft 56 and isoscillated by means not shown, to move in an arc as shown by the arrowsand thereby repeatedly fold the candy sheet back on itself, placing onelayer of laminate upon another. The number of these layers in the sheetproduced by the laminator 52 is controlled by the rate of oscillation ofthe plate 55 and the speed of the conveyor 54 relative to that of theconveyor 27. However, typically three layers of laminate are combined inthis manner so that the number of layers of peanut butter and candy aretripled. A pair of side wall guide plates 57 are provided to keep thelayers in alignment, one with another.

The laminated sheet is rolled down in three successive stages by cleatedrollers 59, 60 and 61. The rolled out thin sheet is transferred to aconveyor 62 and is rolled out further by a sheeting roll 64. This thinsheet is then rolled inwardly from both edges by a second pair ofsidewinders 65 to produce another double jelly roll configuration andonce again multiply the number of layers of peanut butter and candy inthe final product. Each time the number of layers are increased and thesheet is rolled out again, the individual layers become thinner, givingthe product a more delicate nature.

At the end of the conveyor 62, as shown in FIGS. 1E and 2E, the doublerolled sheet is rolled down by a cleated roller 66 and the rolled downsheet is twisted 180 degrees and fed onto a conveyor 67 disposed beneaththe conveyor 62. This twisting action can be accomplished by plowblocks, for example, similar to the plow blocks 24 and 25 shown in FIGS.1B and 2B. The sheet is then rolled out in three successive stages bycleated rollers 69, 70 and 71. The reason for twisting the sheet is thatat least part of the bottom surface of the candy may have beencontinuously against the conveyor and may not have been directlysubjected to the stretching and working action of the cleated rollers.Therefore the bottom candy layer of the laminate is thicker and denserthan the other layers at the point of the 180 degree twist. The rollers69, 70 and 71 stretch and thin this layer to make the laminate moreuniform throughout its cross section.

The laminate is then transferred to a conveyor 72 and is rolled to itsfinal thickness by sheeting rolls 74 and 75. The sheet is longitudinallygrooved by a pre-form roller 76 to facilitate cutting. The preformedsheet moves off the conveyor 72 and between a slitter roll 77 and a backup roll 79. The preformed sheet is longitudinally cut by the slitterroll 77 which has a plurality of thin cutting blades 80. To insurecomplete severing of the sheet, the back up roll 79 may be provided withslits to receive the tips of the cutting blades. The separated productstrips are given their final cross-sectional shape by a shaping roll 81.The product strips may then be cut into product sized lengths andenrobed or encapsulated with chocolate.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3E and 4A-4E, there is shown anotherembodiment of apparatus according to the present invention whichincludes the same cooking and aerating unit 10, steel band conveyor 12,water cooling unit 14, spreader 15 and vibratory rework feeder 16.

In this embodiment, the peanut butter is preferably deposited on thecandy sheet immediately after the rework is added by application pipe82. The pipe 82 extends from a pressurized source of peanut butteracross the conveyor 12. The pipe 82 is provided with a nozzle 84positioned a short distance from one edge of the candy sheet, and anozzle 85 positioned further toward the center of the sheet. The twonozzles deposit parallel spaced streams of peanut butter 86, 87 upon thesheet.

A plow block 89 lifts the edge of the candy sheet and rolls it over thefirst peanut butter stream 86 as shown in cross section in FIG. 10. Asecond plow block 90 or an extension of the first lifts the enrobedstream 86 and rolls it over the second peanut butter stream 87 as shownin cross section in FIG. 11. A third plow block 91 on the opposite sideof the conveyor lifts the other edge of the sheet and folds it over uponthe two enrobed streams as shown in FIG. 12.

The folded sheet is rolled down by a cleated roll 92 to seal the top twocandy layers together and thereby encapsulate the peanut butter within acandy coating. The sealed rope of candy and peanut butter is turned overtwice as shown in FIGS. 3B and 4B by single plows 24 and 25 spaced alongthe conveyor 12. The folding and turning of the candy allows the candyto cool evenly and prevents excessive cooling of one surface which wouldresult in hardening or "skinning over" of the surface.

After being rolled down and turned over twice, the product rope consistsof two layers of peanut butter separated and surrounded by candy asshown in cross section in FIG. 13. In this embodiment the product ropeis transferred from the conveyor 12 to the conveyor 27 by a laterallypivoting conveyor 94.

The conveyor 94 is supported at its input end by a yoke 95 having ashaft 96 that is journalled in a block 97 which is supported by suitableframework 99. The output end of the conveyor 94 is supported by a wheel100 oriented transversely of the conveyor and riding on a track 101which is suitably supported. The output end of the conveyor isoscillated transversely by a motor 102, a crank 104 mounted on the motorshaft, an arm 105 secured to the conveyor 94, and a link 106 connectingthe crank 104 to the arm 105.

The transverse oscillation of the conveyor 94 causes the layered rope tobe laid down in a sinuous pattern on the slower moving conveyor 27between the guide plates 36. The folds of the layered rope pile upagainst the smooth sheeting roll 37 and these folds are pressed togetherbetween the sheeting roll 37 and a back up roll 39 to produce a candysheet having 2 to 4 times as many layers as the layered rope.

The laminated sheet then flows directly to the two sidewinder units 46where the sheet is rolled from each edge toward the center to producethe double jelly roll configuration and again multiply the number oflaminations in the final product. Radiant heaters 47 may be employed asshown to insure that the sheet is sufficiently pliable.

Referring now to FIGS. 3D nd 4D, the double rolled sheet is rolled downby a cleated roll 49 and is folded over from each edge by plow blocks107 and 109 to an on-edge configuration shown in cross section in FIG.14. A third plow block 110 lays the folded sheet on its side and thesheet now has double the number of laminations as the sheet rolled outby the cleated roll 49.

The sheet is then fed to another cleated roller 51. The wider rolled outsheet exiting from roller 51 flows into the laminator 52 where it isfolded back on itself in a number of layers to further multiply thelaminae in the product. sheet, as explained above with respect to FIGS.1D and 2D.

In this embodiment, on-edge belt conveyors 111 and 112 are used asguides to keep the layers in alignment with one another. The laminatedsheet is then rolled down in stages by the cleated rollers 59, 60 and61, and is then transferred onto conveyor 72 where it is rolled out by asheeting roll 114. A pair of side guides 115 extend from the roller 61to the roll 114 to control the width of the sheet supplied to the roll114. The roll 114 is provided with a pair of ridges 116 to insure thatthe sheet exiting from the roll 114 is of uniform width. The conveyor 72is driven at a somewhat faster rate than the roller 61 to stretch outand thin the laminated candy sheet.

At the end of the conveyor 72, as shown in FIGS. 3E and 4E, thelaminated candy sheet moves under the preform roller 76 and between theslitter roll 77 having blades 80 and the slitted back up roll 79. Theproduct strips exiting the slitter roll 77 are carried by a conveyor 117under the shaping roll 81 and then transferred to a diverging conveyor119 which may include, for example, a plurality of angled guide orguides of increasing width. The product strips leaving the divergingconveyor 119 are laterally spaced from each other and are transferred toa conveyor 125 where they are cut into product size lengths by a cutter,for example, a rotary cutter 126. The product pieces are spacedlongitudinally by transferring them to a faster moving conveyor 127 forchocolate encapsulation.

In FIGS. 16 and 17 there is disclosed an arrangement which could be usedin place of the oscillating chute 26 of the first embodiment, shown inFIGS. 1C and 2C, or in place of the pivoted conveyor 94 of the secondembodiment, shown in FIGS. 3C and 4C. In the arrangement of FIGS. 16 and17, diverging vertical guide walls 129 are provided prior to thesheeting roll 37 and the speed of the conveyor 27 is adjusted withrespect to that of conveyor 12 to create a piling up of candy mass infront of the sheeting roll 37, much as shown in FIGS. 1C and 3C.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivemeans.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for producing a laminated sheetproduct having thin layers of a semifluid first material interleavedwith thin layers of a semifluid second material, which apparatuscomprises:longitudinally extending conveyor means; means forcontinuously forming a sheet of said first material on said conveyormeans; means for continuously depositing said second material on saidsheet to form a layered sheet of said first and second materials; firstmeans for continuously rolling said sheet from the edges thereofinwardly to form a first double roll extending longitudinally along saidconveyor means; first means for flattening said first double roll into asheet product; second means for continuously rolling the sheet productfrom the edges thereof inwardly to form a second double roll; and secondmeans for flattening the second double roll into the laminated sheetproduct.
 2. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said means fordepositing comprises means for forming a plurality of grooves in saidsheet of said first material angularly across at least part of saidsheet and means for spreading said second material into said grooves. 3.The apparatus recited in claim 2 wherein said means for forming aplurality of grooves comprises means for forming a first group ofangularly extending grooves from a first edge of said sheet and meansfor forming a second group of angularly extending grooves from a secondedge of said sheet to form a herring-bone pattern.
 4. The apparatusrecited in claim 3 wherein said means for forming a plurality of groovescomprises grooved roller means.
 5. The apparatus recited in claim 1wherein said means for depositing comprises means for depositing atleast one stream of said second material onto said sheet.
 6. Theapparatus recited in claim 5 further comprising means for folding saidsheet over at least part of itself to cover said stream of secondmaterial with said first material.
 7. The apparatus recited in claim 1wherein said second material is softer than said first material.
 8. Theapparatus recited in claim 7 wherein said first material is a waterbased material and said second material is an oil based material.
 9. Theapparatus cited in claim 8 wherein said first material is a candy andsaid second material is a paste of oil bearing vegetable material. 10.The apparatus recited in claim 1, further comprising means for dividingsaid laminated sheet product into longitudinally extending strips. 11.The apparatus recited in claim 10 wherein said means for dividing saidlaminated sheet product into longitudinally extending strips comprisesmeans for providing longitudinally extending grooves in said sheetproducts and means for cutting said sheet product along saidlongitudinally extending grooves to form said strips.
 12. The apparatusrecited in claim 10, further comprising means for transversely dividingsaid strips into product pieces.
 13. The apparatus recited in claim 1wherein said means for continuously rolling said sheet from the edgesthereof comprises longitudinally grooved roller means disposed angularlyacross at least part of said conveyor means.